Significance
Needling the rat supraspinatus tendon is a feasible technique that causes a transient healing response followed by a return to, or improvement of, normal tendon properties, indicating potential applicability in understanding the effects of current practices utilizing dry needling of tendons in humans. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:2035-2042, 2019.